Exit Planning for Business Owners
The difference between a good exit and a great exit often comes down to proactive tax planning. Business owners who start planning two to five years before a sale can potentially save hundreds of thousands, or even millions, in taxes through strategies like installment sales, qualified small business stock exclusions, charitable remainder trusts, and opportunity zone deferrals. At Whitwell & Co., we help you keep more of what you have built.
How exit-ready are you today?
A 16-question self-assessment for owners who are roughly three years from a sale. Answer on screen, see your readiness instantly, and print a branded result to bring to a conversation. No email, no signup. Score yourself across four areas and find your highest-leverage next move.
Business Value & Transferability
Could it run, and sell, without you in the middle of everything?
Financial Readiness
Does a sale get you to your number, after tax?
Deal & Tax Structure
Is the transaction built to keep more of what you sell?
Personal & Legacy
Are you, and your family, ready for the life after?
Prefer paper? Download a blank PDF to print and fill by hand.
Already have an offer on the table or a sale closing soon? The focused, fast-moving fit is the 90-day Exit Planning Readiness Sprint.
- Business owners considering a sale in the next 1-5 years
- Owners who have received an unsolicited offer
- Entrepreneurs planning a merger or management buyout
- Founders who want to understand their after-tax proceeds
- Early-stage founders not yet considering an exit
- Individuals seeking business brokerage services
Start Planning Before the Offer Arrives
The most expensive mistake business owners make is waiting until they have a letter of intent to think about taxes. Many of the most powerful tax reduction strategies require years of advance planning. We help you build an exit roadmap that maximizes your after-tax proceeds.
Structuring the Sale for Tax Efficiency
Asset sale vs. stock sale, installment notes, seller financing, earn-outs: the structure of your deal has enormous tax implications. We work with your M&A attorney and CPA to model scenarios and identify the structure that puts the most money in your pocket.
Life After the Exit
A liquidity event changes everything. We help you transition from business owner to investor, building a diversified portfolio, establishing an estate plan, and creating a sustainable income stream from your proceeds.
The Three-Year Window
Most of the strategies that protect your proceeds need lead time to work. Roughly three years out is the moment with the most leverage: enough runway to build transferable value, model your after-tax number, and position the eventual deal structure before an offer forces your hand. Our exit planning engagement is designed for exactly this window. If a transaction is already imminent, our 90-day Exit Planning Readiness Sprint is the faster-moving fit.
Who We're Best Suited For
Different isn't better for everyone, but it matters for the right families.
You want one coordinated relationship across investments, taxes, estate, and cash flow, not a siloed advisor for each piece.
You value plans you can actually visualize and share, not 60-page binders that gather dust.
You expect proactive guidance through complex decisions, not reactive order-taking.
You care about aligning your financial life with your physical vitality and your reason for building wealth in the first place.
A Quiet Invitation
If a sale, merger, or transition is on your horizon, the years before the offer are where the value is won or lost. If you want to walk away with more of what you built, we should talk. We do not believe in pressure or hard pitches. We believe in the right relationship with the right people at the right time.
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